Turn Your Eyes Upon Jesus
Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before him endured the cross, scorning the shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. Hebrews 12:2 (NIV)
The Bible is full of verses about keeping our eyes on the Lord, but two are especially dear to me. I found them once during a difficult period, and I've kept them in my prayer journal ever since: Matthew 17:8 and Psalm 34:5.
When they looked up, they saw no one except Jesus. Those who look to Him are radiant.
That's the theme of this beloved hymn by Helen Lemmel. Helen was born in England in 1863, and came to America with her family when she was a child. Her father, a Wesleyan Methodist preacher, settled in Wisconsin. There Helen spent her teen years, growing in musical interest and ability. Her parents provided the best training possible, including a stint in Germany, studying with the masters.
After returning to America, Helen found herself in demand, traveling widely and giving concerts in auditoriums and churches across the Midwest. She could have been a popular singer in the secular world, but Helen's greatest desire was to serve Christ with her voice. Accordingly, she joined the Moody Bible Institute and trained young people in music and song.
In 1918, Helen fifty-four, was visiting a friend who showed her a gospel tract by Lillias Trotter, missionary to North Africa, entitled, "Focused." There Helen read these words: "So then, turn your eyes upon Him, look full into His face and you will find that the things of earth will acquire strange new dimness."
Helen later described how she turned that simple sentence into a famous hymn: "Suddenly, as if commanded to stop and listen, I stood still, and singing in my soul and spirit was the chorus, with not once conscious moment of putting word to work to make rhyme, or note to note to make melody. The verses were written the same week, after the usual manner of compostion, but nonetheless dictated by the Holy Spirit."
The song was published in Britian in 1922, and two years later in the United States. After her retirement, Helen moved to Seattle where she passed away at the age of ninety-seven in 1961. She had written over five hundred hymns, as well as many children's songs. She also composed and published several volumes of poetry and a popular book for children entitled Story of the Bible. Her long life was spent looking up, seeing Jesus only, and reflecting His radiance to others.
Excerpt from "Then Sings My Soul" by Robert J. Morgan
Thomas Nelson Publishers
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